Outsiders, The, is a novel by the American author S. E. Hinton. It is a groundbreaking work of fiction in the history of young adult literature. The novel was published in 1967, when Hinton was a teenager.
In The Outsiders, Hinton realistically creates characters, dialogue, and settings that represent actual teenage life in the United States. The novel explores a variety of themes, including social class rivalries, poverty, alcoholism, teenage gangs, violence, and cruelty. At the time Hinton wrote the novel, such themes were unusual for young adult literature.
The Outsiders covers several days in the lives of a group of teenagers. The characters are loosely based on Hinton’s classmates in her hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, though the state and city are not specifically named. The story, narrated by Ponyboy Curtis, provides an inside view of high school boys who are outsiders in their society. The central conflict is the rivalry between two gangs, one rich (the Socs) and one poor (the Greasers).
Hinton began writing The Outsiders when she was a sophomore in high school. After being accepted by a publisher, the novel grew in popularity by word of mouth as teenagers responded to a story that reflected their real lives. The author’s full name is Susan Eloise Hinton. Her publisher suggested the book be published under her initials to make her name more neutral in gender.
See also Hinton, S. E.
